Yreka Chargers Midgets Youth Football Squad: A true team effort

Thursday

Nov 14, 2013 at 1:21 PM

By Daily News Sports Editor Bill Choy@SDNBillChoy

The Yreka Chargers Midgets youth football team proudly posed for photos with the 2013 Northern California Federation of Youth Football DII Championship trophy the squad won on Sunday at practice Tuesday night.While pleased with earning the title, the team still has one game left as it looks to win another trophy.And it's a super one.This Saturday, the Chargers face undefeated Sutter, the DI champion, in the NCS Super Bowl Champions game in Oroville, Calif. The contest begins at 4 p.m. at Oroville High School. This is the second year the two division champs are set to meet.The Midgets squad, consisting of 8th graders and a few 7th graders, downed West Valley on the road in Cottonwood by the score of 40-16 on Sunday to earn the DII title The Eagles, league opponents, were undefeated heading into the game and had given Yreka its only loss of the season "These kids have a great winning attitude," head coach Joe Hopper said. "You ask them to do something and they do it."And, if you asked the players and coaches, while they are the underdogs versus Sutter, they have been for most of the playoffs and believe they can pull off the win.The DII crown is the first NorCalFed division title a Yreka Midgets youth football squad has garnered since 1981, when the Yreka Cyclones won. A Yreka Jr. Midgets team won a division crown back in 2002.Yreka had a big lead at the half in the West Valley game and continued to hold on to the lead in the second half. At the end of the third quarter, the lights went out and there was a delay so they could be fixed. The Chargers were able to keep the momentum going and held on for the convincing win.Midget player Tyraye Bush said that when the game on Sunday was over and they had won the title it was an amazing experience he will not forget anytime soon."I was like, 'Great, we did it. We're going to the Super Bowl,'" he said. "It was so exciting."When asked why the team won, Bush simply replied that, "We all did our jobs."And, he said, this group is one that works well together and has a close bond, which shows with the unity they have when they put on the pads."We're all family," he said.Hopper said this group has a passion for football and already knows the importance of studying game film.Each week during the season, the squad has looked over game film with coaches to prepare for that week's game. It's great to have kids so young that already are students of the game, Hooper said.Before the West Valley game, the team made adjustments on weaknesses they saw on game film from the first game and were able to come out and surprise the Eagles on their home field.Hooper said they have carefully studied game film on Sutter. While an excellent team, he said, the coaches have seen things they can do that could help them come away with the upset win.What he likes about this team, Hooper said, is that they are quite deep and have a number of players on both sides of the ball who can contribute, which makes them tough to handle. If one player is having an off game, there is usually another player or two who can step in and perform at a high level.Members of this year's team, according to the Chargers website, are: Benjamin Back, Nathaniel Black, Tyraye Bush, Payton Charlesworth, Caden Corbin, Chris Crowe, Dakota Estep, Robert Giannini, Devin Gomes, Zachary Hanna, Kage Hubbard, Gabriel Hughes, Dillon Lambert, Conner Lawe, Jacob Lisby, Samuel Lopez, Phillip Mandt, Ollin McCoy, Tyler O'Gorman, Jeremy Persing, Matt Robustellini, Blake Shephard, Joshua Theofanides, Kelsey Virgin and Donovan Walter.